Three Novels of Israel & Palestine

[@TheSalMaris]

Fantastic. I love this. Best travelog ever--what better combination than books and travel? I too have experienced the mundane with the myth in my own travels, I know that disconcerted discovery. I haven't visited the Holy Land, but I have read Jerusalem Poker by Edward Whittemore. Not exactly on the same level as your suggestions here, however entertaining. Thank you for this.

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks so much! I'd love to be able to integrate travelog and literature more fully in future videos. Haven't quite got the hang of it yet.

[@MichaelSlovin]

I'll be tracking down copies of these. Gorgeous work, as always. Despite my being Jewish, Israeli/Palestinian literature has only recently become a subject of interest for me. I attribute some of this to being American. Our relationship here to the region is distorted by distance, language, foreign policy concerns, and a uniquely traumatic culture of political activism, so it should be no surprise to hear that my favorite novel set in Israel/Palestine is Philip Roth's snarling, tempestuous, self-fissuring masterpiece, Operation Shylock. It is the ultimate doppelganger novel and contains some of the most inflammatory, anxious, cerebral, and mischievous prose of Roth's career. Through rampant doubling and pairing Roth not only explores the bisected turmoil of Israel/Palestine, but the cultural and intellectual rift between American and Israeli Jews, the tension between the post-Holocaust need for an Israel and the brutal social realities of statehood, mistaken identities of all sorts, co-opted histories, the terrifying chasm between narrative and history, and so on.

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks so much!. Have you ever made a trip there yourself? I bet it would be a fascinating experience for you. Gosh, I really must get to 'Operation Shylock' at some point. There's just so much Roth, isn't there? I've read tons of his books, but never this one. Your description makes me want to pick it up immediately.

[@MichaelSlovin]

@@SherdsTube I had opportunities to visit but never took them. Going on birthright never sat well with me as a teenager. Growing up, I subscribed to a stereotypically obnoxious, militant atheism; the idea of a holy land or city deeply offended me. Now that I'm older and better able to absorb political and religious nuance, I think I would, indeed, get a lot out of a trip to Israel, especially if I were to take a similar approach to yours. Roth was prolific, for sure, and there are pockets of his bibliography worth skipping (the early seventies comedies spring to mind, though I do love The Breast). The postmodern period Operation Shylock belongs to is arguably his strongest.

[@user-nestor_k]

Please make a video on how you read books. Cause there are many techniques and approaches to reading, and your one seems to be very subtle and sharp. I feel like you read on a much deeper level than many of us

[@SherdsTube]

Ah, that's very kind of you to say, but I'm sure it's not the case! It's a great it idea - it might be quite tough to make, though. I think of myself as a fairly intuitive sort of reader rather than a systematic one. I have considered doing some close reading videos - maybe for poetry. That might give you some idea how I tend to approach things.

[@user-nestor_k]

@@SherdsTube Thanks for your reply! I understand your point of view. But such a video would be very useful for many of us!

[@ForrestAguirre]

I'll second this. A close reading or two might open up some methods to help us in our own reading and appreciation of certain texts.

[@siljeblomst1]

This was such a beautiful video, Sam! I loved the footage from your trip, and hearing your thoughts on the books, made me curious about all three. Minor Detail has been on my list for a pretty long time, and right now I’m annoyed by myself for leaving it in storage….

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks so much, Silje! Make sure you dig it out of storage when you get the chance! :)

[@CruelSpirit]

A fascinating selection of books and an interesting view of the many aspects of this land. In your search for books from this region did you ever come across Arabesques by Anton Shammas? This 1986 book was written by a Palestinian Christian in Hebrew and offers an interesting autobiography of the author's family from the 1920s-1980s. Beyond just being a generational tale, it offers a lot of literary prowess and experimentation that would have me recommending it to anyone beyond just an interest in the region. It has a lot of ties and influence to Jorge Luis Borges and John Barth, among others. NYRB just put out an edition of it at the beginning of this year, which is where I was introduced to it. I found that it really offered a lot in terms of not only the narrative of the author's family but the interlaced relationship between Israeli and Palestinian identities. Definitively a recommendation for any further reading on the region.

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks for the comment! Yes, I did come across 'Arabesques' while deciding what to read for my trip. I didn't end up reading it, but no-one had described it as beguilingly as you have, so now I'm definitely far more intrigued! Thanks for the recommendation. I will definitely give it a go as soon as I can.

[@shoresofpatmos]

Another fantastic video. Particularly interesting to me, due to my 12 month stay in AlQuds/Yerushalayim.

[@SherdsTube]

Thanks for the kind words. I hope you're safe.

[@maddssmithy]

This was lovely. I would like to visit the holy land one day and it is one of those places that really only feels right to visit if one a week or two week long trip. There is so much to see. I As for book from the region, I have read some and plan to read others. Have you heard of Sayed Kashua? I see him get mentioned a lot. I am fascinated by the novels and poems of the Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in Israel in particualr. Kashua is not this, though. He is Palestinian Muslim I believe. Also, I have heard good things about The Memory Monster by Yishai Sarid. S.Y. Agnon is supposed to be pretty good too. I have an entire list of Literature on my Goodreads account from this region.

[@maddssmithy]

Hi! Sorry to comment again but I just went to my Goodreads where I have lists dedicated to Jewish Literature, Arab Literature, and anything Israel/Palestine related. Here are some books and authors that might be worth checking out. I have not read all but here are some options: Touch by Adania Shibli The Book of Ramallah: A City in Short Fiction edited by Maya Abu al-Hayat A Trumpet in the Wadi: A Novel by Sami Michael (Israeli author of other books too) The Stone House by Yara Hawari This is Not a Border: Reportage & Reflection from the Palestine Festival of Literature by J.M. Coetzee Erez Bitton (author) Preliminaries by S. Yizhar Nissim Rejwan (author) David Grossman (author) A.B. Yehoshua (Author) Anyone please feel free to list some more in the replies. Thanks!

[@maddssmithy]

I understand if you don't want to answer but did you feel a certain type of way for visiting? I don't think a visit to a place is a stamp of approval for all the laws there but some people seem to view it that way. Then again I think there is an entire small Palestinian tourism industry that could probably use tourists? But I see some people that are against basically anyone going there and visiting for pleasure (unless they are Palestinian or of Palestinian descent) because people should boycott it? Curious what your thoughts are and if you had any reservations. Personally don't think a visit to a place is an endorsement of the places politics but of course this stuff can get rather messy.